Lamborhgini Urus Concept: Monterey 2012

It's only a matter of time before Lamborghini is cleared to start producing the Urus sport utility vehicle, and, according to CEO Stephan Winkelmann, that time is expected to be soon, The Detroit News reports.

The Urus SUV still hasn't received the official green light for production, but that hasn't stopped Lamborghini from protecting its performance crossover in the land of stolen vehicle designs. These patent drawings submitted in China show what appear to be the Urus in the same concept form that we first saw last year at the Beijing Motor Show.

After surveying the European economic scene, Volkswagen may have decided now is not the time to launch utility vehicles with Bentley and Lamborghini badges. Bentley officials say they will continue to push for support for the EXP 9 F and Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelman has said planning for the Urus will continue until VW tells it to stop.

While much of the focus for Lamborghini at the Paris Motor Show was on its new strategy for the Gallardo line using styling cues to differentiate the rear-wheel-drive, all-wheel-drive and Superleggera models, the Italian automaker is continuing development of its Urus SUV, even though it has not yet gotten final approval yet.

We crawled all over the Lamborghini Urus Concept, and even took the time to open the doors and sit behind the wheel of the utility vehicle at "The Quail: A Motorsport Gathering" during the festivities at Pebble Beach this past weekend. While there has still been no official announcement of whether or not the concept has received a thumbs-up for production, all indications are that the program is moving forward for a launch around 2015.